Field of the Invention
A storage container includes a rectangular bin containing an open-ended chamber having a horizontal bottom wall, a pair of vertical side walls and a vertical rear wall, and a pair of parallel spaced horizontal centrally-arranged guide rails that extend longitudinally below the bin, which guide rails have forward end portions that extend outwardly beyond the front end of the bin. A motor arrangement connected at one end with the forwardly protruding ends of the guide rails displaces a pivotally connected ramp wall between a vertical first position closing the front end of the chamber, and a downwardly inclined loading and unloading position.
Description of Related Art
Storage containers for delivering bulk material, landscaping material, and the like to a site, and for collecting waste at a site, are well known in the prior art, as shown by the patents to Collins U.S. Pat. No. 8,043,043 and Green U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,701, and a ramp arrangement for containers is shown in the Jenkins U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,288. A storage container with a pair of swinging doors is shown in the Straka U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,574. Collapsible and sectional shipping and storage containers are shown by the patents to Csumrik U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,278 and Roberts U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,176.
In the prior Hughes U.S. Pat. No. 7,819,270, a telescoping material handling bin is disclosed wherein a ramp end wall is pivoted downwardly to permit a loading/unloading vehicle to be driven up the ramp for engagement with the bulk material contained in the bin.
One problem that occurs during the use of such known bulk material handling and storage bins is that of connecting an operating motor arrangement to the container in such a manner that it will operate a relatively heavy container component, such as a pivotally connected ramp wall, in a positive durable manner without interfering with the handling of the container, or the operation of container components (such as access doors and the like). Initially it was proposed to connect the motor means for operating a container ramp wall between the adjacent vertical edge portions of the ramp wall and the container side walls. The present invention was developed to avoid these and other disadvantages of the prior art devices.